Former Suspect In The Death of Kendrick Johnson Charged With Assault

On January 13, 2013, 17-year old Kendrick Johnson’s body was discovered in a gym mat in Valdosta, GA. Local authorities and a government medical examiner determined that Johnson died of “positional asphyxia” due to an accident. They described the accident as Kendrick placing his shoes inside the gym mat and while retrieving them, he became stuck in the mat.

In October 2013, Kendrick’s parent had an independent autopsy performed. The cause of death was determined to be “apparent non-accidental blunt force trauma”. CNN reported on the independent autopsy. In the civil cases filed by the Johnson’s, the independent autopsy was not entered on the record. In their depositions, the Johnson’s testified that they had no proof that Kendrick was killed.

Thereafter, the Department of Justice opened an investigation. In June 2016, the DOJ closed their investigation citing insufficient evidence.

During the DOJ’s investigation, two suspects were brothers Brandon and Brian Bell. Brian Bell now attends the University of Akron where he plays linebacker on the football team.

Brian Bell

On September 22, 2016, Raycom News Network reported that Brian Bell was charged with misdemeanor assault. The charge stems from a May fight. The victim, a 24-year old, said that he had a disagreement with one of Bell’s friends. He alleged that Brian Bell yelled at him and sucker punched him in the face. The victim was taken to Akron General Hospital and treated for a cut on his nose and swollen eyes.

Bell was arraigned on September 30, 2016. Arrest Nation, which reports on the arrests of athletes, also reported the arrest.

The media then went silent.

According to court records, on October 12, 2016, Brian Bell entered a plea bargain for the lesser charge of disorderly conduct. His sentence included payment of costs to the victim, no contact with the victim, and a $247.00 fine.

Nothing is reported as to whether Brian Bell’s arrest and conviction resulted in temporary suspension or other penalty for the football team.

I knew this would happen only a matter of time before his Violence results in another death smh. We have friend on twitter who’s Son was murdered His Killer wasn’t brought to justice until twelve years later When He then Murdered someone else.

NavyDad,
When Zimmerman was acquitted, there were thoughts that he would kill again. I prayed that no one else would lose their life because of him. I feel the same way for whomever is responsible for Kendrick’s death. Hopefully, karma has another way of working it out.

With that said, having a temper and physically assaulting others is not good. Brian Bell is still young and maybe he should get counseling on coping skills.

How did I miss this news?
The first thought that comes to mind is, the human tendency to indulge in pattern recognition can be a drawback. In all fairness, just because this short-tempered youth clocked somebody, it doesn’t automatically imply anything about his interactions with Kendrick Johnson.
As fair-minded humans, we remember that when Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, morons said he deserved it because he stole some cigars. But even if he walked out of there with a crate of cigars on his back, that of course would not justify gunning him down in the street.
It seems, on one level, that to draw conclusions from Mr Bell’s misdemeanor assault charge and subsequent conviction, is a similar kind of thinking – the kind that sometimes leads to grave injustice. And that’s all very high-minded.
And then, the life experience thing kicks in. As grownups, we know that if somebody gets charged with one violent act, in all likelihood there have been other violent acts that didn’t result in law enforcement involvement.
This could be nothing. Or it could be the first step toward unravelling the mystery that might still be solved in our lifetime.

Wow. One thing I do know, this smacks of white privilege all the way. I know mixed race and black youth who have received greater charges resulting in jail time and substantial fines for doing much less than this – yelling fight in public with no hands on activity, spitting on the ground at someone’s feet, etc.

May?? WTF took so long? And this was in OH so it’s not as if he would have the same protection he enjoys in GA?
And why isn’t some sort of drug/alcohol program/anger management and probation part of the plea deal? I’ve seen the tweets& texts of this guy, violence is nothing new for him. He needs to be supervised until someone comes clean with the information needed to charge this guy w/Kendrick’s murder.

I’ve always felt that one day, maybe 20yrs from now, someone’s going to come forward & confess, either of their own direct involvement or coverup of Kendrick’s murder.
This guy & his brother were not suspected for no reason. Their parents didn’t obstruct the investigation for no reason.
I really hope that reason shows it self one day so Kedrick’s parents can finally see some sort of justice for their son.

BRIAN BELL ARRESTED FOR SIMPLE ASSAULT WE ARE ADVISED! VALDOSTA DAILY TIME; WALB TV; ABC TV; NBC TV; AND OTHER SOUTH GEORGIA NEWS MEDIA OUTLETS. I WAS INFORMED OF THE FOLLOWING CONCERNING MR. BRIAN BELL IN AKRON. UNDER OUR FORM OF GOVERNMENT THE GENERAL PUBLIC MUST BE INFORMED FROM GEORGIA NEWS ASSOCIATED PRESS WHEN IT NEEDS PUBLICATION TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC. THANKS AMERICA FOR OUR FORM OF GOVERNMENT. http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/akron/akron-football-player-charged-with-assault/324031665

BRIAN BELL AND K.J. CASE NEWS FOR ALL WHO WANT TRUTH: K.J. Family Attorney Fee Case Before THE SLEEPING JUDGE” With LINKS; No Mainstream News Media; No Cameras Allowed In The Courtroom Of THE HONORABLE JUDGE RICHARD PORTER (THE SLEEPING JUDGE)

Absolutely for sure it’s another example of ridiculously light punishment for an actual violent crime, while people of color are serving outrageously long sentences for minor infractions. With the whole society and system based on unfairness, we see this every day, and that’s the basis of a potential problem that could interfere with our ability to solve the bigger problems. Basic inequity is there so often, that we might be in danger of taking it as an easy answer, even though it’s a horrible answer.

I think what I’m trying to say is, so many cases keep coming along, and we want to understand. So we put one of the convenient labels on, like white privilege, for example. The label isn’t wrong! It definitely is white privilege, inequity, selective enforcement, and a bunch of other labels besides.

Maybe this is just me, but I feel like, once we’ve given it a name, it’s like putting it in a file drawer and feeling that we’ve mentally “handled” it. But our file drawers are stuffed with zillions of examples of all the bad things, and somehow it hasn’t seemed to help much.

What am I trying to say? Maybe that we cheat ourselves, by mentally filing things too soon, before we’ve squeezed all the meaningful information out of them? It seemed like a solid idea was forming when I started these reflections, and I’ve drifted away from this page’s topic.

With Bell’s adventures, for instance, there are a bunch of things to think about. If it was a black kid or a poor white kid, what kind of legal representation would have been available? How long would it have taken to get out of jail? Who makes the rules about these things? What does it take to change those rules? Who decides whether to accept the pleading to a less serious charge? Can it be proven that some groups are greatly disadvantaged by not being allowed to do that? If it can be proven, where can that proof be taken and submitted in order to bring about change? Should an athlete in Bell’s situation be suspended from football? Is there a reasonable moral and legal basis to expect that? What happens to less fortunate athletes in similar situations? If that picture looks wrong, how can it be fixed?

I think what I’m trying to say is, by putting a label on something too fast and then moving on to the next thing, we miss a lot of opportunities to learn what could be some really useful angles. Or, like I said, maybe it’s just me.

Alllllrighty then — Tate is right. The separation of powers means that the legislature should not interfere with the judiciary. By the same token, I don’t think that lawyers should be in charge of investigating judges either. However, if the system that has been in place worked, it should stay that way.